Pretty Little Liars: Back to the Drawing Board
by Shauna34
Summary: Aria's cousin Cassidy comes back to Rosewood for a few weeks and people start to wonder about her past with a local boy. Meanwhile the trail on A leads the girls down a different road, will all there work become useless and leave them vulnerable or will they find out who A really is.


**Chapter 1**

'Dad, I'm home' shouted Aria as she walked into the house.

'Sweetie can you come into the living-room' said Ella (Aria's mom).

Aria walked to the doorway of the living-room.

'Mom what are you doing here?' asked Aria.

'Nice to see you too' laughed Ella.

'No I mean it's a surprise to see you here' explained Aria as she sat down across from her Mom.

'Well I came here to tell you and your brother that your cousin Cassidy is coming here when your aunt and uncle are on their business trip' said Ella.

'Cassidy is coming here, when?' said Mike as he walked down the stairs.

'She'll be here on Thursday' said Byron who was sitting beside Ella.

'For how long?' asked Aria.

'For about 3 weeks or more her parents don't quite know' said Byron.

'We haven't seen her in ages' said Aria.

'Exactly; Cassidy will be attending school here until the end of the year because her parents might actually be moving back here' said Ella.

'I remember when we were younger and both our families went to Lake Lowan together for the summer; that was so much fun' said Aria as she got up.

'Aria' called Bryon before she went up the stairs.

'Yeah Dad' said Aria as she turned around.

'Cassidy will be staying in your room with you' explained Byron.

'That's cool, I love Cassidy' said Aria.

She started to walk up the stairs but remembered she promised Spencer that she would have dinner at her house. Aria ran back down the stairs.

'I'm going to Spencer's house for dinner' called out Aria as she closed the front door.

After a few minutes of driving she reached Spencer's house. She parked in her driveway and went to the house.

She heard someone talking and as she got closer to the door she realized it was Melissa.

'I told you they don't know anything from that night, if they did Spencer would be asking questions and she's not' said Melissa in a hushed tone.

There was no other voice but Melissa wasn't talking now.

'You don't need to do anything because I have everything under control' continued Melissa.

The door was open so Aria peeked around the side of the door. She could only see Melissa so she stepped to the left a bit but hit off the plant. The plant fell and smashed.

Melissa turned around, 'HELLO, is anyone there?' she shouted out.

She turned back around

'I think someone is listening, I'll call you back later; bye' whispered Melissa.

She walked quickly out the back door.

Aria ran back to her car to call Spencer.

'Spencer, where are you?' asked Aria.

'Sorry I'm running late; my car broke down for some strange reason' said Spencer from the other side of the phone, 'can you come and pick me up; I'm at the school'.

'Why are you there?' asked Aria.

'I broke down right in front of the school; so can you pick me up?' asked Spencer.

'Yeah, sure I'll be there in two minutes' said Aria who hung up the phone and began to pull out of the driveway.

As Aria was about to drive down the street she saw Melissa staring out the window.

When she reached the school Jason DiLaurentis was talking to Spencer. Aria parked at the side of the road and went over to Spencer and Jason.

'Hey guys' said Aria as she reached the two standing on the pavement.

'Hey Aria' said Jason casually.

'Hi, when did you get back?' asked Aria.

'I came home yesterday' said Jason.

'Oh well welcome back' said Aria and then turned to Spencer, 'are you ready?'

'Yeah' replied Spencer as she picked up her backpack off the ground.

'My mom told me Cassidy is coming to stay at our house for a while' said Aria.

'Cas is coming back, wow that's 3 years she's been gone' said Spencer.

'Did you say Cassidy is coming back' interrupted Jason.

'Yeah she'll be here on Thursday' explained Aria.

'Cassidy your cousin' said Jason.

'Yeah Cassidy Montgomery my cousin; why?' asked Aria.

'No reason, listen I'll see you guys later' said Jason as he jogged away.

'That was weird' said Spencer as she and Aria walked back to the car.

'Where's your car?' asked Aria.

'A tow truck brought it to the mechanics to be repaired; it'll be ready on Monday' said Spencer, 'someone put sugar in the fuel tank'.

'Sugar?' questioned Aria.

'The driver of the truck said that it must have been a nasty prank' said Spencer buckling her belt.

'Or A doesn't want you to tell anyone about the night on the train' suggested Aria.

'I don't think A knows we know about that night' said Spencer, 'and A wasn't there with you, Wilden and the other person'.

'I heard Melissa talking to someone on the phone when I went to your house and I don't think they were talking about the weather if you know what I mean' said Aria.

'What did she say?' asked Spencer.

'I think it would be better to tell Hanna and Emily together' said Aria.

'I told them dinner was cancelled because my car broke down but we can go to Emily's house and tell them; Hanna's still there' said Spencer.

Aria drove Spencer and herself to Emily's house. Aria parked the car in the garage because she wasn't taking any chances now that things were getting more dangerous.

Before Spencer rang the doorbell Hanna had opened the door.

'Hey what happened with Melissa?' asked Hanna.

'How do you know?' asked Aria.

'Spencer texted me' said Hanna.

The four girls settled down in Emily's room. Emily and Spencer on the window seat, Hanna on Emily's bed and Aria was sitting on an armchair near the mirror.

'So what happened?' asked Emily.

'Well I was walking into the house but heard Melissa talking to someone and didn't want to interrupt but I heard what she was saying and it sounded a bit weird' started Aria.

'Why what was she saying' interrupted Spencer.

'She was reassuring someone on the other end of the phone that you didn't know anything' finished Aria turning to look at Spencer.

'Know anything about what?' asked Spencer.

'I don't know maybe it was about the night on the train' said Aria, 'I mean she was there'.

'Says Mona and she can't be trusted; I mean the video and all the other proof started to mysteriously delete when the person was about to be revealed' said Spencer.

'We were all there and we saw how Mona acted when all the stuff on her laptop disappeared' said Hanna, 'she was as surprised as we were'.

'But when it comes to lying she's a genius, I mean she lied to our faces for about a year' said Emily.

'She was unwell' said Hanna who was now sitting up.

'When she got out of Radley she was still A' said Emily.

'But now she's trying to help' argued Hanna.

'She's only doing that because A is after her now as well' argued Emily.

'I'm not saying what she did was right' said Hanna calming down, 'but she's trying to say she's sorry and help us'.

'We don't need her help' said Emily.

Spencer stood up and said, 'Stop fighting; we need to figure out who Red Coat is and who Melissa was talking to and about what'.

'And who put sugar in your fuel tank' added Aria.

'What time is it?' asked Hanna.

'Nearly 7; why?' asked Emily.

'My mom wants me to pick up some dry cleaning for her business meeting' said Hanna standing up and picking up her bag.

'Yeah I have to go too, I want to try and get Melissa's phone and see the number she was calling' said Spencer who was standing up too.

'Do you want a lift?' asked Hanna.

'Thanks that would be great' replied Spencer.

The two of them walked out of Emily's bedroom.

'You don't have to go, do you?' asked Emily.

'No I can stay a bit longer' said Aria.

'So any news?' asked Emily.

'Ehm well Cassidy is coming to stay for a while' said Aria.

'Cas is coming back?' questioned Emily, 'hasn't it been 3 years?'

'Yeah, I think it's a bit strange that she's been gone that long and she hasn't even called, e-mailed or texted us at all' said Aria.

'That and you know that she and Jason had this thing going on' started Emily, 'it finished the year before Ali disappeared'.

'Oh yeah; that ended badly' said Aria.

'And it was the talk of the town' said Emily, '7 years of an age difference between them'.

'Angela and Paul were so mad' laughed Aria.

'They're her parent's right' questioned Emily.

'Yeah Paul is my Dad's brother' explained Aria.

'Oh yeah remember we were having a slumber party at Cas' house when we were 9 and her dad scared us all by wearing a Halloween mask and bursting through the doors' laughed Emily.

'That was not funny I fell on Ali and hit my head of the bottom of the bed, that's why I have this scar' said Aria pulling back her hair and moving towards Emily to show her a small 'c' shaped scar at the side of her head, 'I had to get 4 stitches and that was a lot for me at that age'.

'Oh yeah Alison was complaining that you sprained her wrist when you were under the bed crying' laughed Emily.

'Remember that same summer she told Mike he could fly so he jumped off the slide and fractured his femur' remembered Aria, 'my Mom and Dad were so mad'.

'Yeah now you think about it when he got the bed sheets stuck in the steps and fell to the side was funny' laughed Emily.

'Now it is' laughed Aria as well, 'I better go home or my Dad will be wondering where I am; I don't think he heard me when I told I was going to Spencer's'.

Aria got up and Emily followed her down the stairs and to the front door.

'I hope Spencer finds the number Melissa was calling cause if she doesn't it will be another dead end' said Emily opening the door for Aria.

'Yeah cause if we find out who Melissa was talking to, we might find out who Red Coat is' finished Aria as she got into her car.

'See you tomorrow' said Emily waving at Aria as she drove out of her garden.

Aria drove past Jason's house. He was outside sitting on his steps. Aria pulled the car over to his house. She stepped out and walked over to Jason.

'Can I ask you a question?' asked Aria.

'Hello to you too' said Jason in an emotionless voice.

'Sorry; hello, so can I ask you a question?' repeated Aria.

'Sure' said Jason.

'What happened between you and Cas?' asked Aria.

'She didn't tell you' said Jason now standing up on the top step.

'No, can you?' asked Aria.

'I think you should ask her' said Jason as he turned around.

'Well I'm asking you' said Aria.

'The staring got annoying' said Jason without turning around.

'I don't think that was it; Cas didn't care what other people thought' said Aria.

'I was 21 and she was 14, it was inappropriate' finished Jason as he walked into his house and closed the door quickly.

Aria turned around and got back into the car. It had been a few weeks since she had told Ezra she wanted to see other people and thought maybe she should start dating again but it was just too hard.

She drove home and parked her car in the garage. She usually didn't do this but thought it would be wise because of the sugar in Spencer's car. She also couldn't afford to buy a new car.

She went in the door from her garage to her house and saw her mom was still there.

'Hey Mom; you're still here' noticed Aria.

'Again, nice to see you too' laughed Ella

'Sorry, I'm just surprised you're still here' said Aria sitting down at the table.

'How was Spencer's?' asked Byron.

'Oh we went to Emily's instead' said Aria.

'So you didn't get dinner?' said Ella standing up and walking over to the fridge, 'I can make you something if you want.

'Sure that would be great' said Aria smiling.

Suddenly Aria got a text from Spencer.

It read: Got the number meet me at Hanna's

'So what would you like me to make?' asked Ella.

'Actually I just remembered I order something at the new Indian place and it's for take-away and I need to collect it' said Aria, 'I'm so stupid'.

She got up and walked quickly out the door.

It took Aria 3 minutes to drive to Hanna's and when she got there she saw Emily's car parked at the front of her house. She parked right behind her house. She ran to the door and again Hanna opened it before Aria got to knock.

'Come in quickly, Spencer's just about to ring the number' said Hanna.

Hanna shut the door behind her.

'Is your Mom not here?' asked Aria.

'No she's on a date with Ted' said Hanna walking beside Aria.

'Pastor Wilson' smiled Aria.

'Leave it' laughed Hanna.

'Guys come on' said Emily.

The girls were in the kitchen. Spencer was standing behind the sink and the other three girls were standing at the other side of the island.

'So I'll call them and see whose number this is right' said Spencer.

'Right' said all the girls in unison.

'Okay' said Spencer and then took a big gulp.

'Are you okay?' asked Emily.

'Yeah, it's just that if it turns out that my sister murdered Ali I really don't know what I'm going to do' said Spencer, 'I mean all the evidence points to Melissa'.

'If you can't do it then maybe someone else should' said Hanna.

'No I can do it' said Spencer.

She dialed the number and the phone started to ring. She put it on loudspeaker.

'Hello and welcome to Far-view Hotel, this is Marie speaking, how may I help you' said a warm and high pitched voice.

'Hi, I called early today, I'm Melissa Hastings, I...' began Spencer.

'Oh sorry Miss Hastings the visitor you were speaking to early today has left our hotel' said Marie.

'Oh well could you give me the name of the visitor I forgot and it's a very important for work' said Spencer.

'I'm sorry Miss Hastings she didn't leave a name and she paid in cash' said Marie.

'Okay what room number was she staying in then?' asked Spencer.

'She was staying in room 19 on our third floor' said Marie.

'I would like to book the room please' said Spencer.

'That room hasn't been cleaned yet so is unavailable right now' said Marie.

'When will the room be cleaned' asked Spencer.

'The cleaning staff will be on that floor at 2' said Marie, 'and you can only get onto that floor if you are part of the staff or have a room on that floor'.

'Are there any rooms available on that floor?' asked Spencer.

'There are but with late booking there will be an additional charge' said Marie.

'How much is a room?' asked Spencer.

'673 dollars for one night' said Marie, 'stay for 10 nights and you get an extra for free'.

Spencer looked up at the girls and they all nodded.

'I would like to reserve one night in a room on that floor' said Spencer.

'Reservations cost an additional 45 dollars' said Marie.

'I'll reserve the room and I'll pay in cash as well' said Spencer.

'What would you like to reserve the room under Miss Hastings?' asked Marie.

'Silverman' blurted out Hanna.

'Silverman it is' said Marie, 'the total adds up to 718 dollars'.

'I'll pay for it tomorrow then' said Spencer.

'No problem, see you tomorrow Miss Hastings, hope you have a good night now' said Marie before hanging up.

'718 dollars' said Emily.

'Yeah I know but we need to get into that room' said Spencer, 'whoever was there might have left something behind'.

'Well we know they're a girl' said Hanna.

'That was weird when she knew who Melissa was straight away right' said Aria.

'Yeah and how she asked what name to put it under and not putting it under Melissa Hastings' said Spencer.

'Hanna I'm back' said Ashley (Hanna's Mom).

There was a noise of the door closing and then the sound of high heels. Ashley appeared from around the corner with Ted behind her.

'Oh hi girls' said Ashley who was surprised.

'Hi Miss Marin' said the three girls.

'How was your date Mom?' asked Hanna.

'It was great' said Ashley.

'It was indeed' said Ted.

'The girls smiled at Ted. Someone's phone began to ring.

'Sorry it's my Mom, I better go' said Emily walking to the hall.

'Yeah us too' said Aria as she and Spencer walked over to Emily.

'Bye guys' said Hanna as the three of her friends walked out the door.

'Sorry did we interrupt?' asked Ted.

'No it's okay' said Hanna smiling.

The girls walked to their cars.

'Spencer do you want a lift, I need to get some food from the new Indian place and I pass your house on the way' said Aria.

'That would be great thanks' replied Spencer.

'See you guys later' said Emily as she got into her car.

'Bye' said Aria.


End file.
